A friendly email reminder from a dear friend motivated me to get back to work on the blog. I apologize for the super long hiatus. But as you can see, we are still alive and well in Africa!
Websites describing the effects of major transitions ease the discomfort of feeling as though I am some sort of freak who can't deal with change. According to the experts, it turns out that the homesickness, the disorientation, the frequent dreams, which assure my mind as I sleep that I am either back in Texas or back in Rwanda ...... these all prove I am NORMAL! (This is really cool, since I think it is pretty much the first time in my life that I have been normal, haha.)
I'm not the only one with dreams - every one of us has awakened at one point or other since August with tales of super-real dreams that we are in our home in Rwanda or Texas. Just yesterday, Ruthie came downstairs and said, "I dreamed that I went out and met Samuelee - (pronounced Samwel-ee - he's a night guard at our mission back in Rwanda) for tea, and we were speaking Kinyarwanda together." And a while back, Sam said he dreamed of Simeon, a dear friend who worked for us at the mission. Simeon and Sam used to have so much fun stomping rats together in our kitchen back in the "good old days". Deste dreamed he was at the ranch with Gaga and Papa, his new grandparents, whom he speaks fondly of regularly*. Ah, sweet memories! (*The rest of us don't understand how he bonded so much with dear Papa and Gaga - he was only with them a few times when we were in America last year. But somehow, he knows they are special, and he often speaks of longing to be "at the ranch, with Gaga and Papa", as if it is some magical place like Disneyworld. All I can say is, it must be a God-caused bond, because we didn't even hope that he would be able to grasp that they were now his relatives - nor did we make a big effort to convince him of this. It just happened.)
Our hearts ache with the void left by leaving our many Rwandan friends. The big, sweet smiles, the generous hearts, the daily rhythms, their and inspiring stunning reliance on the Savior ... we miss it all.
And yet, here we are in Kenya. Tim is quite busy studying Swahili, so he can better communicate with his surgical patients once his license is approved, which hopefully will happen later this month. He just "aced" his Swahili mid-term exam, to no one's surprise. (My husband, the awesome student!)
Tim has also taken up the slack left at home, by my constantly obsessing over teaching my English classes. He has become "Mr. Mom", and is handling menu planning and grocery shopping. Tthis involves walking 10 minutes to the village market with the sturdy bag gifted to us by our dear friend, Paige Mixon, picking out fresh veggies and fruit sold by some ladies who grow them nearby, then walking another minute to a small store, or duka, and buying oil, flour, sugar, coffee, salt, powdered milk, etc. Lastly, he stops by the side of the dirt road and buys a dozen or two fresh eggs from the man who sits under a shade tree every day selling his chickens' work from that morning. Of course, on the way and back home again, he practices his Swahili. All in all, it isn't a bad way to spend a morning, he says. Below are a few pictures from one rare day when we all shopped together on a Saturday.
Once Tim begins working in the hospital, I will have to step my game up a notch and begin shopping and menu planning on Saturdays, but for now, I have enjoyed and appreciated Tim taking care of this home-making chore. And he says he has finally learned the answer to the question, "Hi honey! So, what did you do all day?" :) He says he has also learned why it is not a good idea to ask the question at all, at least not with a tone or follow up question, "Did you get anything done today at all?"
I am a bit bone weary at the moment, but still, I am LOVING teaching British Literature to the senior class at Sam and Ruthie's high school. L.O.V.I.N.G.I.T.!! (Did I mention I love it?) I'd all but forgotten so much of this literature, and so have re-read pieces I hadn't studied for 25 - 30 years, and then have enjoyed sharing them with the greatest class of seniors this world has ever known.
So far, we've studied Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Caedmon, Bede, and some Anglo-Saxon Eliagic poetry. Next week, we move on to Chaucer, then later we'll be studying Malory, Marlowe and on to Shakespeare (Yes, I am excited!), and so forth and so on. We get to end the year with my all time favorite writer EVER, Mr. C.S. Lewis. I am having a blast teaching these kids. It's so much better than I hoped it would be. The silly pics are from a day the student council hosted a "fashion purge" day, to build spirit for a big game - pretty much everyone came in as many clashing items of clothing as they could find, beg, borrow or steal. Well, not steal - this is a missionary kid's school, after all.
I made my bulletin boards out of colored chalk quotes, since I couldn't find many posters in downtown Kijabe, Kenya...... 
More than the literature, though, the real reason I love teaching is my students. What an amazing group of kids. My classroom houses students from many states of the United States, as well as from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Germany, England and more. Their aspirations include becoming nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers, pastors, professional musicians, linguists, marine biologists and pilots, just to name a few. Not only are these kids from a wide variety of home countries, their parents now work in a wide array of African countries, as well.
So, I get to read and hear about mission life, as well as get to pray for missionaries serving in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Madagascar, Angola, Botswana, Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. Talk about a diverse group. What a privilege to teach these kids! Also, what a cool feeling to know that in a very small way, I am supporting so many missions across Africa, by providing 1/7 of the daily education for these high school seniors, so their families can do the jobs they were sent to Africa to do. (And you, our supporters, are ALSO supporting all these missions by funding our work here! So, we thank you so much!)
Knowing I am enabling so many others to do their direct ministry while I am here, near good kidney care and and near my children, makes me feel so happy, and also a little less guilty about being in such a nice place. Also, knowing that Tim will soon be gaining invaluable experience learning to run a surgical residency program, so he can help equip more African doctors to know how to perform surgery, which will someday benefit rural Africa's critical need of surgical care, makes us glad we are investing some time here as well.
Meanwhile, back in Rwanda, thanks to some dear friends IN Rwanda, the Seka ladies' ministry is still going strong! Words fail me when I try to express how grateful I am that this ministry has continued even with our move. We are almost ready to ship a whole bunch more bags to America to sell, so please let me know if you want to be a Seka seller for round two of the Powerful Purse Purchase!
I mean, why wear a normal purse when you can wear a purse with the power to pay a child's school tuition, or to buy groceries for a family for two months, or that can teach English to Rwandan widows and orphans? Why wear a designer bag when you can design a way to help sisters you've never met support themselves, and to survive and thrive in their world, 8,000 miles away? For that matter, why just help one widow with one purse purchase? Why not buy many, or better yet, why not SELL even more?
Ruthie and Sam love being "station kids" this year (meaning, they live with their parents on the mission station) rather than boarding kids. They do miss their friends, and the silly shenanigans that spontaneously happen now and then in the dorms, but it is so nice that they enjoy being with their old mom and dad. I think perhaps it is Tim and me who enjoy being with our teens more than the teens enjoy being with their geriatric parents, but all in all, it is a Win-Win for all of us. Ruthie is surviving Chemistry and loving AP English, and Sam is loving Art and Biology and surviving Geometry.
Deste, on "round 2" of Kindergarten, has found his stride. In 15 months, this brilliant boy has conquered the English language, adjusted to his new family, fallen in love with grandparents he hardly ever sees, learned to like and trust men (he used to be quite afraid of them), bonded with his Daddy, knows his ABCs and the sound each letter makes, is learning to read, bit by bit, is able to not run and scream when he sees dogs (and can even sometimes stop and pet them), has learned to swim, can write almost all his letters and numbers up to 10, and has flown to 3 countries and been in 5. He has started taking piano lessons, and is fiercely committed to practicing "every, every day". Yes, we are proud of our son!
And yet, here we are in Kenya. Tim is quite busy studying Swahili, so he can better communicate with his surgical patients once his license is approved, which hopefully will happen later this month. He just "aced" his Swahili mid-term exam, to no one's surprise. (My husband, the awesome student!)
Tim has also taken up the slack left at home, by my constantly obsessing over teaching my English classes. He has become "Mr. Mom", and is handling menu planning and grocery shopping. Tthis involves walking 10 minutes to the village market with the sturdy bag gifted to us by our dear friend, Paige Mixon, picking out fresh veggies and fruit sold by some ladies who grow them nearby, then walking another minute to a small store, or duka, and buying oil, flour, sugar, coffee, salt, powdered milk, etc. Lastly, he stops by the side of the dirt road and buys a dozen or two fresh eggs from the man who sits under a shade tree every day selling his chickens' work from that morning. Of course, on the way and back home again, he practices his Swahili. All in all, it isn't a bad way to spend a morning, he says. Below are a few pictures from one rare day when we all shopped together on a Saturday.
Just outside the "Supa Duka", where we buy our dry goods.
This is where we buy our vegetables. (Above)
And below, starting the walk home from a Saturday shopping trip.
Once Tim begins working in the hospital, I will have to step my game up a notch and begin shopping and menu planning on Saturdays, but for now, I have enjoyed and appreciated Tim taking care of this home-making chore. And he says he has finally learned the answer to the question, "Hi honey! So, what did you do all day?" :) He says he has also learned why it is not a good idea to ask the question at all, at least not with a tone or follow up question, "Did you get anything done today at all?"
I am a bit bone weary at the moment, but still, I am LOVING teaching British Literature to the senior class at Sam and Ruthie's high school. L.O.V.I.N.G.I.T.!! (Did I mention I love it?) I'd all but forgotten so much of this literature, and so have re-read pieces I hadn't studied for 25 - 30 years, and then have enjoyed sharing them with the greatest class of seniors this world has ever known.
So far, we've studied Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Caedmon, Bede, and some Anglo-Saxon Eliagic poetry. Next week, we move on to Chaucer, then later we'll be studying Malory, Marlowe and on to Shakespeare (Yes, I am excited!), and so forth and so on. We get to end the year with my all time favorite writer EVER, Mr. C.S. Lewis. I am having a blast teaching these kids. It's so much better than I hoped it would be. The silly pics are from a day the student council hosted a "fashion purge" day, to build spirit for a big game - pretty much everyone came in as many clashing items of clothing as they could find, beg, borrow or steal. Well, not steal - this is a missionary kid's school, after all.
Here's a "dress like a Korean" day, as a spirit builder for Jazz Band.....
Yes, many of these Jazz Band folks ARE Korean, so they had quite an advantage.
 |
| Back to "Fashion Purge" day. |
 | |
| Just another day of class...... |
More than the literature, though, the real reason I love teaching is my students. What an amazing group of kids. My classroom houses students from many states of the United States, as well as from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Germany, England and more. Their aspirations include becoming nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers, pastors, professional musicians, linguists, marine biologists and pilots, just to name a few. Not only are these kids from a wide variety of home countries, their parents now work in a wide array of African countries, as well.
So, I get to read and hear about mission life, as well as get to pray for missionaries serving in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Madagascar, Angola, Botswana, Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. Talk about a diverse group. What a privilege to teach these kids! Also, what a cool feeling to know that in a very small way, I am supporting so many missions across Africa, by providing 1/7 of the daily education for these high school seniors, so their families can do the jobs they were sent to Africa to do. (And you, our supporters, are ALSO supporting all these missions by funding our work here! So, we thank you so much!)
Knowing I am enabling so many others to do their direct ministry while I am here, near good kidney care and and near my children, makes me feel so happy, and also a little less guilty about being in such a nice place. Also, knowing that Tim will soon be gaining invaluable experience learning to run a surgical residency program, so he can help equip more African doctors to know how to perform surgery, which will someday benefit rural Africa's critical need of surgical care, makes us glad we are investing some time here as well.
Meanwhile, back in Rwanda, thanks to some dear friends IN Rwanda, the Seka ladies' ministry is still going strong! Words fail me when I try to express how grateful I am that this ministry has continued even with our move. We are almost ready to ship a whole bunch more bags to America to sell, so please let me know if you want to be a Seka seller for round two of the Powerful Purse Purchase!
I mean, why wear a normal purse when you can wear a purse with the power to pay a child's school tuition, or to buy groceries for a family for two months, or that can teach English to Rwandan widows and orphans? Why wear a designer bag when you can design a way to help sisters you've never met support themselves, and to survive and thrive in their world, 8,000 miles away? For that matter, why just help one widow with one purse purchase? Why not buy many, or better yet, why not SELL even more?
Ruthie and Sam love being "station kids" this year (meaning, they live with their parents on the mission station) rather than boarding kids. They do miss their friends, and the silly shenanigans that spontaneously happen now and then in the dorms, but it is so nice that they enjoy being with their old mom and dad. I think perhaps it is Tim and me who enjoy being with our teens more than the teens enjoy being with their geriatric parents, but all in all, it is a Win-Win for all of us. Ruthie is surviving Chemistry and loving AP English, and Sam is loving Art and Biology and surviving Geometry.
Ruthie and her friend, Grace, volunteered to teach the Rift Valley kids'
Sunday School class, and they are doing a FABULOUS job! I am so proud of
her.
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| Ruthie the teacher! |
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| Coby, Ruthie's boyfriend (who is from South Carolina), came to help out one Sunday morning. |
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| Deste, hard at work in Kindergarten! |
Deste, on "round 2" of Kindergarten, has found his stride. In 15 months, this brilliant boy has conquered the English language, adjusted to his new family, fallen in love with grandparents he hardly ever sees, learned to like and trust men (he used to be quite afraid of them), bonded with his Daddy, knows his ABCs and the sound each letter makes, is learning to read, bit by bit, is able to not run and scream when he sees dogs (and can even sometimes stop and pet them), has learned to swim, can write almost all his letters and numbers up to 10, and has flown to 3 countries and been in 5. He has started taking piano lessons, and is fiercely committed to practicing "every, every day". Yes, we are proud of our son!
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(A note to my mom and dad -- the girls in the far back (the blond and the girl with the bun) are the daughters of the girls your San Antonio church has supported all these years! Cool, huh?)
Bye! Thanks for reading, we hope to hear from you soon (feel free to comment, and I promise to write back!) -- and here's hoping I begin writing regularly again.
Nice to see you thriving, and to see the kids enjoying lunch! Thanks!
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